Quote by John Steinbeck

When I was very young and the urge to be someplace was on me, I was assured by mature people that maturity would cure this itch. When years described me as mature, the remedy prescribed was middle age. In middle age I was assured that greater age would calm my fever and now that I am fifty-eight perhaps senility will do the job. Nothing has worked. In other words, I don't improve, in further words, once a bum always a bum. I fear the disease is incurable.

When I was very young and the urge to be someplace was on me

Summary

This quote expresses the speaker's frustration with the constant restlessness and dissatisfaction they have felt throughout their life. They were told that as they grew older, their desire to be somewhere else would diminish, but they have found this not to be the case. Despite reaching various stages of adulthood and aging, the speaker still feels the same itch of discontentment. The quote suggests that the speaker believes this feeling of being a "bum" or an outsider is an inherent part of their identity, and they fear that they will never find a sense of contentment or fulfillment.

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By John Steinbeck

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